I am still thinking about the difference between my toleration of ugly but functional things–and observing friends and companions at Tin Can Bay who instead, make everything within reach more beautiful. I have a perfectly functional merino underlayer that is a fairly ordinary shade of mauve, and as I wear it every week at this time of year, I have had it in contemplation. I finally decided that the time had come, only to find a little ladder. That was quickly mended with logwood dyed thread. This picture gives a fair sense of the colour of the garment.

I have mended this top quite a bit due to the monster season of m*th activity a year or two back. The darns are in various colours, some quite tasteful. These ones are still pale blue and pale purple, as they were after early washfastness testing in 2013. I dyed these threads with plum pine.

Others are a lot more random!

Having darned over breakfast, I set out to plant boobialla and saltbush, with a plan about collecting dyestuffs.

I feel sorry fr these plants going into such sad looking land…

But I have not lost a single plant in this patch and if they all grow it will make such a difference. Those that went in a few months ago are much bigger already. Someone stopped as I planted and said ‘You are such a good public person!’

Plants in, weeding done, I headed out to this E Scoparia. It’s a beauty with particularly slender leaves. The people whose fence it overhangs don’t like it tickling their hair as they pass and resent it hanging over their fence. So hard to understand! I selectively cut to minimise their struggle with it when I want to use this plant. I make it shorter over the footpath and then trim the lowest hanging parts over their fence.

Home again, home again!

The tree is in flower, but the flowers are small. Love those pliable red stems.

I settled on a pot full of dried E Cinerea leaves. This rainwater tank finally has rain in it again.

Then for the bundling part… I always think I’ll be neater this time, and then make the usual scruffy bundle.

Some time later, the leaves have had a head start and in goes the bundle.

Well, I think this is an improvement! Here is the front. The logwood didn’t really survive the dye pot very well, which works. The eucalyptus dyed threads have stayed their previous colours, but now blend in. The indigo dyed thread is still blue!

Oh, that is frustrating. I got some unimpressive results at first. It’s worth persisting. Also, going back and re reading Eco Colour or the bundle book… in case, like me, you missed some crucial detail. In time you will figure out which local plants give you colour. I hope that is soon!

now it looks like something you would want to wear on the outside rather than an undergarment! lovely, and such good fast dye too …. my local plants give colour and prints but fade a lot … and yes, you are a fantastically good public person!